Grand Valley State University alumna and fiction author Suzanne Rivecca will speak at the Writer’s Series on “What GVSU Meant to Me” today at 2:30 p.m. in Room 2215 of Kirkhof Center. The event is free and open to the public. She will answer any questions about her book and future plans.

Rivecca, a native of Kalamazoo, graduated from GVSU in 2001 and speaks highly of her time while attending the university after transferring from Oberlin College.

“My experience at Grand Valley was great,” she said. “The professors at Grand Valley were so engaged and approachable. The transfer was a positive change and allowed her to grow and explore as a writer.”

At GVSU, Rivecca was a writing consultant and an opinion columnist for the Lanthorn, but she said she wanted to be a writer since kindergarten.

“I’ve always been very self-directed when it came to cultivating that passion,” she said. “I’ve dabbled in different kinds of writing – poetry, journalism, theory, grant-writer – but I always came back to fiction.”

Austin Bunn, assistant writing professor, helped organize the Writer’s Series. He said Rivecca’s experience is beneficial to the GVSU community.

“We’re most interested in Suzanne because she’s had a phenomenal career as a young writer,” he said. “She’s somebody that has a lot of ambition and vision for her work. Rivecca can help provide young undergraduate writers a sense of direction towards a career in writing.”

Bunn said Rivecca sets a good example for current writing students.

“Suzanne is a local girl done good,” Bunn said. “She really has built a life for herself as a creative writer. And because she’s so young, she can speak to students and demystify what it means to be a writer.”

Rivecca’s first book, “Death is Not an Option: Short Stories” was released summer 2010. Currently she is working on a historical novel.

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